Ending 2011 with a bang!

Our plan for next cycle is still shipping. We discussed me flying down, but with Christmas ticket prices, family visting their home, and my recent obligation to a client, it's just not feasible.

Today is CD 24, I'm expecting AF in about 7-8 more days. We should be good to go for a December 23rd or 24th insemination. Ovulation should occur on the 25th or 26th. It's best to inseminate before ovulation because we want the sperm there and waiting to meet the egg. I'm also going to use an instead cup this time, to increase our chances. An instead cup is a menstrual cup, but it can be used while TTC. After I "deposit" the sperm, I insert the cup and leave it there for little while. This prevents anything from coming back out and gives the sperm time to get through my cervix because the cup acts as a pool so they stay close to the cervix. I've read from many who have conceived the first month using an instead cup. I'm excited to see what it does for us!

So that's the plan, let's hope it works so we end the year of 2011 with a huge bang! :)

Wept

I have never cried while TTC my own children but today I cried over not being able to do an insemination this cycle cause of the long distance, timing and holiday. It's no one's fault, it is what it is. 


TTC as a surrogate is so much more emotional because this isn't just about me and my husband like with our own kids. This is about a whole other family who deserve a baby! 


The desire for me to give them this baby is stronger than it was for my own. Of course I wanted my chidlren when I wanted them, but I guess because it was easy for me and my husband (our 1st took 3 months, our 2nd one try), it's just different! I knew with our own children we had the chance to conceive whenever the moment struck us and when we knew the timing was right. I could say I'm fertile this week, and we would make sure to be intimate several times that week to make sure we covered all our bases. 


As a tradition surrogate (TS) it has to be planned weeks ahead. We can't just do an insemination as soon as I know I'm fertile. It's more complicated. 


I knew this could take a few months to work, I just didn't realize how emotional I'd be over it. 


I want to help this family so much, but I'm having a hard time being patient about it! 


On to the next cycle.


My ovulation prediction is Christmas! 

BioTranz

I mentioned previously about H & M shipping the semen. You might be wondering HOW DOES THAT WORK?

We use a kit, called BioTranz, that is specially designed for shipping semen.

Information from their website:

The Bio-TranZ® sperm shipper container with all its contents are designed to cool semen to approximately 5°C for overnight transport all over the United States. 

The Bio-TranZ® technology provides:

• Proven technology for mailing liquid semen.
• Reduces anxieties and pressure during semen production.
• Easy for its use and employment.
• Saves precious time and money.
• Shipped semen can be used for IUI or evaluation.
• Guarantees similar results to fresh semen.
• Helps avoid unnecessary travel and stays in hotels.

The Bio-TranZ®, because of its unique features, allows a patient to transport unfrozen semen to a location for evaluation purposes or use in an insemination program or other Assisted Reproductive Techniques (ART) such as In-Vitro Fertilization (IVF). 

By using the Bio-TranZ® one can save precious time (travel, etc) and most importantly, financially, since the Bio-TranZ® and the transportation (via overnight shipper) costs only a fraction of what it would normally cost for the patient to travel and stay at the given location. 

The quality of the sperm shipped via the Bio-TranZ® is as good as fresh sperm, which guarantees excellent fertilization and pregnancy results. The Bio-TranZ® is easy to use and comes with all materials needed for the shipment, as well as, very simple instructions that one can follow.

Each package contains:

• Corrugated shipping box
• Polystyrene (Styrofoam) container 
• Cold pack
• Thin piece of Styrofoam with 2 holes
• Test-Yolk Buffer (TYB; 5 ml) 
• Test-tube
• Fabricated Styrofoam core (block)
• Shipping label (pre-paid return label optional)
• Instructions

H & M will follow the instructions for this kit, then take it to FedEx right before it closes, and ship it overnight so it can be delivered at the earliest time the next morning. I take over from there and start the at home insemination process. 

Timing is everything! 

Bah Humbug!

It's CD 16, and at 12:30pm I got a positive OPK.....

I messed up the date at first

I should be happy right? .....WRONG!

I'm frustrated! There isn't a possibility that H & M can ship today due to H's job demanding her to be in meetings all day, FedEx will close 30mins after she gets out of work, and if they shipped tomorrow it would be a waste because it wouldn't be delivered until Friday because of Thanksgiving! So the soonest we could inseminate is Saturday if they shipped on Friday.

A positive OPK means I will ovulate in the next 12-48 hours. So at the latest Thursday, so if I inseminated on Saturday that's 2 days after ovulation at the earliest. Worse case scenario is I ovulate late tonight while sleeping or tomorrow (Wednesday), then that's 3 whole days after ovulation that I can inseminate. The egg would no longer be viable, since it only "lives" for 48 hours. :(


FRICKITY FRICK FRACK!

I'm glad that I am ovulating closer to normal in my cycle....CD 16 for a positive OPK is really good, but why does it have to be around the holidays! Last month it happened right before Halloween! It looks like that it might happen for Christmas too! CD 16 would be Christmas Eve, if my cycle is 32 days this round. I most likely be ovulating around December 26th next cycle.

This is a bit ridiculous!

*sigh*

You are making a baby how?

Today I was faced with some criticism about my journey and about using at home insemination as our method, so I would like to clear things up.

M, the Intended Father has been tested for infectious diseases, such as HIV and Hep B. I have seen the report, it's real. The man is CLEAN. He loves his wife, he's faithful, he's not out participating in dangerous activities. If he was, that would have turned me off from matching with them! 

H & M are not "virgins" to all this. They've been down this road before, it didn't work out then for a reason that was no one's fault. 

H & M have tried adoption, they were placed with two baby boys at two different times but BOTH times, the birth mother had changed her mind and took the baby back. It wasn't anything H & M did that didn't give them that baby.

They have been cleared by the state and have had recent home inspections etc. in order to adopt a baby. 

They are WONDERFUL! They LOVE their current children! They DESERVE a baby! 

Before meeting with them, I went to the doctor and was tested for infectious diseases also. All my tests came back clean. I'm also in a faithful marriage and do not participate in dangerous activities. If "I" did then H & M wouldn't have matched with me! 

I'm healthy and clean, and M is healthy and clean. Together that will equal a healthy disease free child ;) 

So How does At Home Insemination work? You ask. 

Here are some very easy to read instructions, from www.fertilityplus.org

NEEDLELESS SYRINGE METHOD

Supplies needed:

1.    Needleless syringe or oral medicine syringe

2.    Collection cup, baggy or condom

3.    (Optional) Saline without additives or preservatives

4.    (Optional) Tube to attach to syringe

5.    (Optional) Mild germicidal soap

You can ask your doctor for a needleless syringe or you can buy an oral medicine syringe at just about any drugstore or in Wal*Mart near the children's thermometers. Buy the syringe with a plunger, not a bulb end (not the mini turkey baster!). The syringes work pretty much the same way. One that is maybe 4 inches long, or longer, is probably best. The oral medicine syringes have about a half inch narrow tip on the end. You can attach a catheter (thin tube) to either kind of syringe but you don't need to and it may waste more of the semen to use one.

a) Take a clean or sterile glass or plastic cup, baggy, or collection condom and have the male ejaculate into it. You'll probably have better luck getting the semen out of a cup since you could suck the baggy or condom up to the syringe and block the opening, but you may get a larger sample with the baggy or condom. You can use a tiny bit of saline, without additives/preservatives, to help get as much sperm as possible into the syringe, but you don't need to worry too much about leaving a little behind. If you are using frozen sperm, you need to ask the sperm bank for directions on thawing.

b) Draw back on the syringe once with nothing but air, then push the air out again.

c) Draw back on the syringe again, but this time have the end of it in the semen -- the vacuum created by pulling back on the stopper will suck the semen into the syringe.

d) Try to tap out any air bubbles since you don't want to inject air into your vagina. You can do this by slowly rotating the syringe until the opening is facing up. Tap the air bubbles to the top and them push the plunger in on the catheter just a small amount -- enough to get rid of air w/o squirting semen out.

e) Get into a position where you can either stay comfortably for a half hour or can get into the position w/ minimal movement. Ideal is to either have hips raised or to lay on your side making sure your pelvis is canted (usually hips provide natural angle if you hips are wider than your waist, but if your bed, or wherever you are lying, is soft, you may want to put a pillow or two underneath your hip).

f) Slowly glide the syringe, or catheter, into the vagina until it is close to the cervix -- but do not try to get it into the cervix and do this gently. Your goal is to coat the outside of the cervix and to deposit as much sperm as possible as close the cervix as you can get it.

g) SLOWLY inject sperm. If you do it too fast, it can squirt out of the vagina or at least spray away from the cervix.

h) If you are concerned about wastage in the syringe, you can use some saline, without additives . . . add some to the syringe, shake it a bit, get the air out, and inject. This is not necessary since there probably won't be enough wastage to be of concern.

i) Try to have an orgasm -- Some suggest that using a vibrator for clitoral stimulation produces a bigger, more powerful orgasm. Use whatever method works best for you (unless it requires lots of water!). The orgasm helps the cervix dip into the vaginal pool and suck up sperm -- it helps get more sperm up there, and may speed sperm travel. Avoid penetration (as in intercourse or with vibrator). This falls in the can't hurt, might help category.

j) You can use water and a mild germicidal soap to clean your supplies if they will have time to dry completely before re-use, or run very hot water over them. Otherwise you can use saline to clean everything.

Timing for this kind of insemination is the same as for intercourse -- if possible. The best timing is the day before LH surge (as detected with an ovulation predictor kit), day of LH surge, and next 2-3 days, the last day or two being insurance. If you don't have all those options, the day of the LH surge and the day after are best.

The advantage to this method is that you don't need any fitted equipment! You don't even need a speculum (though you can use one).

The success rate is the same as with intercourse, perhaps a bit less because there are usually fewer opportunities for insemination and timing may not cover the bases as well.

I hope this helps you all understand this process of at home insemination better. Yes it's EXTREMELY AWKWARD, but those 30mins of awkwardness laying down with my hips in the air trying to think welcoming thoughts about an egg and sperm are all worth it!

At home insemination is not taboo in the surrogacy community, especially for a traditional surrogate.

If you have any other questions that have not already been answers in the Q & A at the bottom of the page, please comment with them and I will answer them for you. 

Thank you! 

Cycle 3: CD 14

It's CD 14 and I'm showing signs that ovulation is coming soon!

My cervix is high, but not completely soft yet, but it's not firm either, it's medium.

I've had a good bit of watery cervical mucus with a bit of EWCM here and there.

OPKs have been negative today, but darker than yesterday's.

I've been drinking 1-2 cups of fertilitea and female toner tea each day since CD 1.

I'm hoping I ovulate before CD 18 this month, I usually don't feel signs until CD 16 on cycles that I ovulate around CD 20.

H & M are on standby so to speak, awaiting my go ahead so they can do what they need to do on their end and FedEx the "package" to me so I can inseminate at home. Yes, that's right, you CAN ship semen with pre-ordered kits made for shipping sperm.

CD 18 is also Thanksgiving, so I hope I don't ovulate ON that day because FedEx is closed, any other day surrounding the holiday should be good for overnight shipping :)


Wish us luck!

Cycle 3: CD 1

Today is the first day of cycle 3.

AF arrived 3 days earlier this month, but that's ok :)

I bought some Fertilitea, so I'm going to start drinking that tonight. I was drinking Traditional Medicinals Female Toner tea last cycle, which may explain why my cycle was a little bit early and why I ovulated a little earlier. I usually have longer cycles but this one was actually closer to normal.

Because it came 3 days earlier, this should mean ovulation will occur between the 24th-28th of this month.

We could have a Turkey Baby!

I can't think of anything better for the IPs to be thankful for this year, if it does happen!

I hope everything goes according to plan and the holidays don't interfere at all. That's my only worry at the moment. I'm not even sure my family and I are traveling for Thanksgiving, we've been having car troubles.

As always, keep sending the baby dust!!!